Police ID museum founder as shooting victim

Updated 12:23 am, Monday, May 27, 2013

John Valluzzo, of Ridgefield, founder and president of the Southern New England Military Museum in Danbury, speaks at a ceremony that brought pieces of steel from the World Trade Center to the museum's collection. Photo taken Tuesday, June 28, 2011. less

John Valluzzo, of Ridgefield, founder and president of the Southern New England Military Museum in Danbury, speaks at a ceremony that brought pieces of steel from the World Trade Center to the museum's ... more

John Valluzzo, of Ridgefield, founder and president of the Southern New England Military Museum in Danbury, applauds speakers at a ceremony that brought pieces of steel from the World Trade Center to the museum's display. Photo taken Tuesday, June 28, 2011. less

John Valluzzo, of Ridgefield, founder and president of the Southern New England Military Museum in Danbury, applauds speakers at a ceremony that brought pieces of steel from the World Trade Center to the ... more

From left, Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, John Valluzzo, president of the Southern New England Military Museum, and Lois Barber, the museum's public relations director, speak at the conclusion of a ceremony that brought pieces of steel from the World Trade Center to the museum Tuesday. Photo taken June 28, 2011. less

From left, Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, John Valluzzo, president of the Southern New England Military Museum, and Lois Barber, the museum's public relations director, speak ... more

RIDGEFIELD -- John Valluzzo spent the last morning of his life at the military museum he founded in Danbury, working with staff members on ideas for new exhibits and discussing repairs to the building.

A few hours later, the 75-year-old Valluzzo was dead, fatally shot outside his Ridgefield home last Friday after he pointed his gun at a police officer, police said, an event that has left many who knew Valluzzo shaking their heads.

"It caught everybody by extreme surprise. It just doesn't make any sense," Johnson said.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the Ridgefield officer, who has not yet been identified, fired after Valluzzo refused to drop his weapon and pointed it toward the cop.

"The officer was obviously shaken, as any human being would be," Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi said Sunday afternoon.

Vance declined to say how many times Valluzzo was hit, but a source close to the investigation said several shots were fired during the fatal encounter.

Ridgefield police were dispatched to the Ridgebury Road home about 5:15 p.m., after a woman living there called a friend in Florida and said her partner, subsequently identified as Valluzzo, was intoxicated, threatening her and waving a gun, according to the source. The friend then contacted Ridgefield police.

Valluzzo, who owned homes in Connecticut and Florida, was the founder and driving force behind the Military Museum of Southern New England on Park Avenue near the Danbury Fair mall. The museum opened in 1995 after a decade of behind-the-scenes preparation.

"He was hands on," Jim Monette, the museum's chief mechanic, said of Valluzzo, the man he called "J.V."

"I remember how excited he was before we opened. We were down on hands and knees scraping the floor getting ready to paint," Monette said.

Originally from Danbury, Valluzzo made his money in the manufacturing industry -- his family owned Danbury Centerless Grinding, a precision machine shop.

Valluzzo served three years in the U.S. Army, assigned to an artillery unit, and was stationed in Korea from 1956 to 1958. But his interest in the military and its history continued far beyond the time he spent in uniform.

"The museum was his passion," said Paul Mangiafico, of Newtown, a member of the museum's board of directors.

"How many multimillionaires do you know who would open a museum like this to the public?" Johnson said. "He'd make anything exceptional. He would always exceed your expectations."

Thousands of people visit the museum each year to view its collection of more than 10,000 artifacts, covering all of the U.S. armed forces.

The museum staff is composed primarily of unpaid volunteers, who are responsible for designing and installing exhibits, running the gift shop and participating in public events, including "open turret" days, when visitors can explore the inner workings of tanks and other armored vehicles displayed on the grounds.

Johnson spent last Friday morning discussing museum business with Valluzzo, most notably, Valluzzo's idea for an exhibit commemorating the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.

As he spoke Sunday, Johnson occasionally slipped into the present tense.

"He's extremely industrious and always on the go with a new exhibit idea or a new project," Johnson said. "I'm certain he was the most extraordinary person I ever knew."

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton called Valluzzo's death "absolutely tragic," but said he, like most others, remain in the dark about the details of the incident.

"I can tell you he had a vision for his museum," Boughton said. "He worked really hard for it and for that part, it's certainly a loss."

At the request of Ridgefield police and Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III, the shooting is being investigated by the state police Western District Major Crime Squad. An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday by the state medical examiner, Vance said.

Johnson said word of the incident began spreading among museum board members and volunteers after pictures of Valluzzo's home appeared on news reports Friday night.

Many of the board members were already familiar with his distinctive Ridgefield residence, which Valluzzo bought at a foreclosure sale for $1.9 million in 2009 and renovated extensively before moving in about two years ago.

"People called and he wasn't answering. They put two and two together," Johnson said.

Even though police had not officially identified Valluzzo, the board issued its own statement Sunday morning, the release virtually coinciding with the state police announcement.

"The news of the untimely death of John Valluzzo comes as a great shock to all who knew him. His departure was sudden, unexpected and particularly distressing," the board's statement said in part, going on to describe the incident as " a senseless tragedy."

In tribute to Valluzzo, the board will keep the museum open during the Memorial Day weekend.